242 HIGHLAND SPORT 



Gurnell,' so with nervous gasps my friend bubbled into my ear 

 a warning to give all these Foes a very wide berth. 



" Quitting this part of the river, we dropped quickly down 

 through Crathes, Park, Durris and Drum, till the water widened 

 to flow more quietly, and here appeared great numbers of the 

 Foe on the banks and bridges, some of whom pelted us with 

 stones, which we did not mind, for as they could be seen falling, 

 they were easily avoided. Then presently we observed a boat 

 crossing the stream above us; it was propelled at a great pace 

 by four Foes, while a fifth stood at the end to pass long lengths 

 of net into the river ; heartily we congratulated each other on 

 being clear of this danger, when, to our dismay, the boat was 

 pulled swiftly round below us and back again to the bank it came 

 from, while that terrible wall of net had surrounded us. Nearer 

 and nearer it closed in, till presently the harsh thing was clinging 

 round my body as it tore off my scales, and in a short time some 

 hundred of us were all splashing in a few inches of water. 



" Taking a last look at my native element, I vowed by all 

 that was fishy, if I escaped this peril alive, that never again 

 would I enter a river. We lay all huddled up in one gasping, 

 struggling heap, while the Foes rushed towards us to cruelly 

 seize and kill all salmon that had recently left the sea. Then 

 in a body they rolled us that were left out of the net on to 

 the shore, whereupon one of the Foe after looking us over 

 cried out, ' Send the rest of these lanky beggars on their 

 journey ! ' At this order the Foes began to kick us to the 

 river with their hard boots, when all those of our party who 

 were able to swim after such rough treatment dashed on 

 towards the sea. As for myself, though badly bruised, I was 

 not seriously hurt, for luckily for me a Foe had tried to kick 

 three of us into the river at once, and as I was furthest from 

 him, it was the other two of my friends who had been the chief 

 sufferers, while the one nearest to the Foe died of his injuries. 

 A few days in the salt water not only made us quite well again, 

 but also completely cured the plague spots. 



